News Releases 05/03
   
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90-Year-Old Man Wins $16 Million Lotto Jackpot

[AP] 05-31-03 ... As he does after every Florida Lotto drawing, Luis Salazar copied the numbers down while watching the 11 pm news, then checked his ticket.

He checked them Wednesday night [May 28] as usual, over and over, until it finally hit him: He'd won.

The 90-year-old Salazar may be the oldest Floridian ever to win the Lotto prize, Florida Lottery officials said Thursday. Salazar, the only winner of Wednesday's drawing, plans to claim his money in Tallahassee on Monday.

"I always change the numbers," Salazar said. "But as a matter of duty to my dead wife, I always play a certain number." Wednesday's winning numbers were: [8 - 13 - 19 - 24 - 27 - 47].

Salazar moved to Osceola County 14 years ago after retiring from a Puerto Rico cement-distribution company, where he had worked as a purchasing agent.

Salazar worked for three years - retiring again at 87 - as a bagger at the Winn-Dixie supermarket in Kissimmee, located at 2618 Boggy Creek Road, the same store where he bought his winning ticket for Wednesday's jackpot.

"I'm happy for him because he deserves it, but I can't believe that $16 million passed through my hands," said Winn-Dixie cashier Jessica Abrams, who usually sells Salazar his tickets.

Salazar said he'd spend the money on his grandchildren and other family members, plus make good on a promise he made over a decade ago.

During a fundraising drive at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Kissimmee, Salazar promised a priest that he would donate $100,000. The priest seemed slightly skeptical.

"He told me, 'Son, where are you going to get that money?' Well, I'm going to go back over there and tell him, 'Father, it took me 10 years, but here is the money,'" Salazar said.

NR 05-30-03 ... Crestview is the 274th Florida location to register a Fantasy 5 jackpot winner.

Tampa Woman Claims ⅓ Share Of $20 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 05-27-03 ... On Tuesday, May 27, a woman from Tampa claimed her ⅓ share of the $20 million Lotto jackpot from the May 10 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Johnnie D. Saunders (74) chose to collect her award in form of a lump-sum payment of $3,791,583 instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $222,222 each.

The May 10 jackpot of $20 million was shared among three winners. Johnnie was the third to claim her prize. The first share was claimed by Lindsay Randall (49) from Fort White and the second by Judith L. Kuglich (61) from Haines City on May 21 [story].

Johnnie bought her lucky Quick Pick ticket at 7-Eleven, located at 909 South 78th Street in Tampa. The store will receive a $3,333 bonus [= ⅓ of $10,000] for selling one of the three jackpot winning tickets.

Johnnie is the 56th Florida Lotto winner with a ticket from Hillsborough County, the 42nd winner with a ticket from Tampa, and the 760th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

Total ticket sales for this jackpot generated approximately $13.8 million for public education in Florida.

Haines City Woman Claims ⅓ Share Of $20 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 05-22-03 ... On Wednesday, May 21, a woman from Haines City claimed her ⅓ share of the $20 million Lotto jackpot from the May 10 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Judith L. Kuglich (61) chose to collect her award in form of a lump-sum payment of $3,791,583 instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $222,222 each.

The May 10 jackpot of $20 million was shared among three winners. Judith L. Kuglich was the second to claim her prize. The first share was claimed by Lindsay Randall (49) from Fort White and the remaining winning ticket from Tampa has not been redeemed yet.

Judith bought her lucky Quick Pick ticket at Publix, located at 617 US Highway 17-92 in Haines City. The store will receive a $3,333 bonus [= ⅓ of $10,000] for selling one of the three jackpot winning tickets.

Judith is the 25th Florida Lotto winner with a ticket from Polk County, the 4th winner with a ticket from Haines City, and the 759th overall winner since the game began in 1988.

Total ticket sales for this jackpot generated approximately $13.8 million for public education in Florida.

NR 05-16-03 ... The Villages is the 273rd Florida location to register a Fantasy 5 jackpot winner.

NR 05-11-03 ... Winter Park is the 272nd Florida location to register a Fantasy 5 jackpot winner.

NR 05-11-03 ... Miami Lakes is the 271st Florida location to register a Fantasy 5 jackpot winner.

NR 05-11-03 ... Fort White is the 230th Florida location to register a Lotto jackpot winner - and the first from Columbia County. A total of 49 counties [out of 67] have now reported Lotto jackpot winners.

NR 05-10-03 ... A $121,752 winning ticket from Palm City is the highest Fantasy 5 payout in Martin County.

NR 05-10-03 ... One player with North Miami ticket wins $714,784 Mega Money jackpot on May 9 !!! This is the 2nd highest Mega Money payout registered in Miami-Dade County. [The top payout in MDC was a $754,152 jackpot from Hialeah on 08-13-99].

NR 05-09-03 ... Tierra Verde is the 270th Florida location to register a Fantasy 5 jackpot winner.

NR 05-09-03 ... Safety Harbor is the 269th Florida location to register a Fantasy 5 jackpot winner.

NR 05-07-03 ... Mascotte is the 268th Florida location to register a Fantasy 5 jackpot winner.

NR 05-03-03 ... Milton is the 267th Florida location to register a Fantasy 5 jackpot winner.

NR 05-03-03 ... Clair-Mel City is the 266th Florida location to register a Fantasy 5 jackpot winner.